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Otter.ai

4.2

Award-winning voice-first team collaboration app for meetings and conversations. Otter Voice Meeting Notes. Generate smart notes from meetings.

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Last updated: January 7, 2025

What is Otter.ai?

Imagine a digital tool that effortlessly transcribes your spoken words into written text in real-time.

Otter.ai offers this service, enabling users to convert their meetings, lectures, interviews, or any verbal communication into text documents. It’s designed to capture and create searchable transcripts, enhancing accessibility and organization. With features like speaker identification and easy sharing options, Otter.ai simplifies the process of documenting and reviewing spoken content.

Otter.ai Demo Video

Who is Otter.ai best suited for?

Otter.ai is best suited for a variety of users, including:

Professionals in Meetings: For those attending numerous meetings, Otter.ai helps in recording and transcribing discussions, making it easier to focus on the conversation rather than taking notes.
Students and Academics: Students can use it to transcribe lectures and group discussions, while academics may find it useful for transcribing interviews or qualitative research conversations.
Journalists and Writers: For journalists conducting interviews or writers who prefer speaking their thoughts, Otter.ai offers an efficient way to transcribe these sessions into text for easier editing and analysis.
Podcasters and Content Creators: It’s useful for podcasters who need to transcribe episodes for show notes or to create written content from their recordings.
Business Teams: Teams working remotely or in dynamic environments can use Otter.ai to keep track of meeting details, ensuring no critical information is lost.
Individuals with Hearing Impairments: Otter.ai can assist in real-time transcription, making spoken content more accessible.
Event Organizers: For conferences, workshops, or seminars, Otter.ai can provide live transcriptions, enhancing accessibility and engagement.

The tool is versatile and can be adapted to a range of settings where converting spoken words to text can add value or provide accessibility.

Use Cases

The main use cases of Otter.ai for different sectors are:

For Business: Enhances meetings by providing automatic notes, improving efficiency and record-keeping.
For Sales: Aids in closing deals and onboarding customers faster through streamlined note-taking and record management.
For Education: Supports students and faculty with tools for success, such as transcribing lectures and facilitating study.
For Media: Assists in creating detailed stories by providing comprehensive notes from interviews and events.

Notable Features

Otter.ai offers several notable features:

Real-time Transcription: Converts spoken words into written text instantly.
Automated Meeting Notes: Integrates with calendars and records meetings on platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet.
Live Collaboration: Allows users to collaborate on transcripts by adding comments, highlights, and action items.
Automated Slide Capture: Captures slides shared in virtual meetings, embedding them in meeting notes for context.
Live Summary: Generates real-time summaries of meetings, also emailed post-meeting.
Speaker Identification: Recognizes different speakers in a conversation.

Pros and Cons

Top 5 Pros of Otter.ai:

Accurate transcription: Otter.ai uses advanced speech recognition technology to provide highly accurate transcriptions of audio recordings.
Real-time transcription: Otter.ai can transcribe audio in real-time, making it useful for live events, meetings, and interviews.
Collaboration features: Otter.ai allows multiple users to collaborate on transcriptions, making it easy to share and edit notes.
Voice command integration: Otter.ai can be integrated with voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, allowing for hands-free control.
Searchable transcriptions: Otter.ai transcriptions are fully searchable, making it easy to find specific information within recorded conversations.

Top 5 Cons of Otter.ai:

Limited free plan: The free version of Otter.ai has limitations on the number of minutes that can be transcribed per month.
Pricing: The paid plans of Otter.ai can be relatively expensive for heavy users or businesses that require extensive transcription services.
Accuracy issues with certain accents or languages: While Otter.ai generally provides accurate transcriptions, it may struggle with certain accents or languages, leading to errors.
Reliance on internet connection: Otter.ai requires a stable internet connection to function properly, which can be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity.
Privacy concerns: As with any transcription service, there may be privacy concerns when using Otter.ai, as sensitive or confidential information could be stored on their servers.

Price

Otter.ai offers different pricing plans:

Basic (Free): Real-time transcription, 300 monthly minutes, and 30 minutes per conversation. Import 3 audio/video files lifetime.
Pro ($16.99/month/user, billed monthly): 1200 minutes monthly, 90 minutes per conversation. Team features, advanced search, and 10 file imports per month.
Business ($35/month/user, billed monthly): 6000 minutes monthly, 4 hours per conversation. Admin features, unlimited file imports, and concurrent meeting joins.
Enterprise: Advanced security, control, and Single Sign-On (SSO). Pricing details available upon request.

Please note that software pricing is subject to change. It’s recommended to visit their site for pricing and contact them for more information.

Customer Success Stories

Here are several Otter customer success stories:

Canidium: A global sales performance consultancy used Otter.ai for managing numerous virtual meetings. They achieved streamlined collaboration, significant time savings, and enhanced marketing capacity, making meetings more efficient.
Aiden Technologies: An IT cybersecurity company improved productivity in sales calls on Zoom by using Otter.ai for note-taking. This led to a 33% efficiency increase, allowing reps to focus more on customer interactions.
Stax: A strategic advisory firm integrated Otter.ai with Zoom and Microsoft Teams for live transcriptions in research interviews, enhancing collaboration among remote teams, maintaining client confidentiality, and improving accuracy in project deliverables.

Otter.ai Reviews

Read the best Otter.ai reviews by verified users here:

Note: review counts as of Dec 26th, 2023.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Otter.ai?

Otter.ai is an AI-powered transcription service that converts spoken words into written text in real-time.

How accurate is Otter.ai's transcription?

Otter.ai provides highly accurate transcriptions, but the accuracy may vary depending on factors like audio quality and speaker clarity.

Can Otter.ai transcribe multiple speakers?

Yes, Otter.ai can transcribe multiple speakers in a conversation, making it ideal for meetings, interviews, and group discussions.

Is Otter.ai compatible with different devices and platforms?

Yes, Otter.ai is compatible with various devices and platforms, including smartphones, tablets, and web browsers, making it accessible and convenient to use.

What are the pricing options for Otter.ai?

Otter.ai offers both free and paid plans, with the paid plans providing additional features like higher transcription limits and advanced search capabilities.

Still have questions? Get in touch

Learn More About Otter.ai

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Author

Joe Kevens

I'm the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of B2B SaaS Reviews and the Director of Demand Generation at PartnerStack, the leading platform for partner management and affiliate marketing in B2B SaaS. My experience spans several notable B2B SaaS companies, including Influitive (Advocate Marketing), LevelJump (Sales Enablement, acquired by Salesforce), and Eloqua (Marketing Automation, acquired by Oracle). I hold a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing Management from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Master of International Business from Queen's University, with academic exchanges at Copenhagen Business School and Bocconi University.

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